What does the skeleton do and how does it allow us to move in sport?
The functions of the skeleton, the major bones, the structure of a synovial joint, the types of synovial joint and the movements they allow in physical activity.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE PE on the skeletal system: the functions of the skeleton, the major bones used in sport, the structure of a synovial joint, and the joint types and movements that allow performance.
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What this dot point is asking
AQA wants you to know the six functions of the skeleton, locate the major bones used in sporting movements, describe the structure of a synovial joint, and explain the four joint types and the movements they allow, with sporting examples.
Functions of the skeleton
The skeleton has six functions you must be able to name and apply:
- Support: holds the body upright and gives it shape.
- Protection: the cranium protects the brain, the ribs protect the heart and lungs.
- Movement: bones act as levers for muscles to pull on.
- Structural shape and points for attachment: muscles attach to bones via tendons.
- Mineral storage: stores calcium and phosphorus.
- Blood cell production: red and white blood cells are made in the bone marrow.
The major bones
The structure of a synovial joint
Key parts and their jobs: cartilage covers the bone ends to reduce friction and absorb shock; ligaments join bone to bone and keep the joint stable; the joint capsule encloses the joint; the synovial membrane releases synovial fluid; and synovial fluid lubricates the joint. Note that tendons join muscle to bone (not part of the joint itself but needed for movement).
Joint types and the movements they allow
AQA names two synovial joint types for GCSE and expects you to match each to a movement in sport.
- Ball and socket (shoulder, hip): the rounded head of one bone sits in the cup of another, allowing the widest range of movement: flexion, extension, abduction, adduction, rotation and circumduction. A tennis serve drives the shoulder through almost the full range as the arm reaches back, swings up and follows through across the body.
- Hinge (knee, elbow): the surfaces fit so the joint opens and closes in one plane only, allowing flexion and extension. Bending and straightening the elbow in a biceps curl, or the knee in a squat, are hinge actions.
The key movement terms must be applied, not just defined. Flexion decreases the angle at a joint (bending the elbow to bring a hockey stick back), extension increases the angle (straightening the knee to jump), abduction moves a limb away from the midline (lifting the arm sideways in a star jump), adduction brings it back towards the midline (pulling the arm down in a swimming stroke), rotation turns a bone about its long axis (the shoulder in a tennis serve) and circumduction is a cone-shaped combination of all of these (a bowling arm in cricket). The classic exam trap is the ankle, which is a hinge joint allowing plantar flexion (pointing the toes, as in a sprint drive) and dorsiflexion (pulling the toes up).
Putting joints, bones and functions together in an answer
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20193 marksOther than movement, state three functions of the skeleton.Show worked answer →
This is a Paper 1 short-answer recall item worth one mark per correct function, with movement excluded by the stem.
Award one mark each for any three of: support (holds the body upright), protection (cranium protects the brain, ribs protect the heart and lungs), structural shape and a point of attachment for muscles, mineral storage (calcium and phosphorus), and blood cell production in the bone marrow.
Markers reward precise function names. A vague answer such as "keeps you strong" earns nothing because it does not match a listed function.
AQA 20214 marksUsing an example from a named sporting action, describe the structure of a synovial joint and explain how two of its features allow effective movement.Show worked answer →
This Paper 1 application question blends AO1 knowledge with AO2 application to a sporting context, so a bare list of parts caps your marks.
Identify a synovial joint in action (for example the knee during a football kick). Award marks for naming features and giving their job: cartilage covers the bone ends to reduce friction and absorb shock, synovial fluid lubricates the joint, ligaments join bone to bone to keep the joint stable, and the joint capsule encloses it.
To reach full marks, link two features to the action, for example synovial fluid reduces friction so the knee extends smoothly to strike the ball, and cartilage absorbs the landing shock.
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Sources & how we know this
- AQA GCSE Physical Education (8582) specification — AQA (2016)